Cherry "Boy Bait" Cake

If you're looking for a basic cake recipe to use with fruits of the season, this is it. The original "Boy Bait" cake is moist, flavorful and works well with any fruit you chose to incorporate. Today, I had some fresh sweet cherries on hand. I made some changes to the original recipe and used all brown sugar and topped the cake with a crumb topping made of oats, nuts and cinnamon. I was pleased with how the cherry variation turned out and have been fantasizing about trying it with chunks of peaches the next time around.

 

Cherry "Boy Bait" Cake

adapted from America's Test Kitchen: Blueberry "Boy Bait" Cake 

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
1 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 large eggs
1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups fresh sweet cherries, pitted

Topping
1/2 cup oats

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons butter

For the cake: 

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch spring form pan. Whisk two cups flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. With electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, about two minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated and scraping down bowl. Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of flour mixture until incorporated; beat in half of milk. Beat in half of remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk, and finally remaining flour mixture. Spread batter into prepared pan. Spread cherries evenly over the batter.

 

For the topping:

Combine flour, oats, sugar, pecans, and cinnamon. Add butter and mix until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the cherries and batter. 

 

Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes. 

 

 

Slice and serve warm or at room temperature. (Cake can be stored in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.)